Ramin Jahanbegloo
Encyclopedia
Ramin Jahanbegloo is an Iran
ian philosopher and academic who is currently based in Canada. He teaches at the University of Toronto
as a professor of political science
.
from Sorbonne University in Paris, France where he lived for twenty years. He was a post-doctorate fellow in Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University
. He is married to Azin Moalej, the cousin of renowned Persian philosopher and scholar, Seyyed Hossein Nasr
.
, English and French on the subject of Western philosophy
and modernity
.
In 1997-2001, he was an adjunct professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto
in Canada. During this period, he published his book for the first time in English, Conversations with Isaiah Berlin (which had previously been translated into French. The book records a series of interviews with the famous philosopher Isaiah Berlin
, which cover intellectual questions ranging from the moral philosophy of Tolstoy to the meaning of liberalism.
In 2001, he served at the National Endowment for Democracy
as a fellow at the a federally funded program, known as the Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program
Upon returning to Tehran, he was appointed head of the Contemporary Philosophy Department of the Cultural Research Center. In his efforts to promote dialogue, he has interviewed scholars and intellectuals from all over the world, among them George Steiner
, Noam Chomsky
, Ashis Nandy
and the Dalai Lama
. In recent years, he invited Richard Rorty
, Timothy Garton Ash
, Antonio Negri
, and Michael Ignatieff
and other Western intellectuals to Iran.
, Jahanbegloo was arrested by the Iranian authorities.
On May 3, Iran judiciary branch officials confirmed that he was arrested and sent to Evin Prison
. According to some sources, he was accused of spying. http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8502130481 The following day, a friend told CBC
News that Jahanbegloo had been moved to a hospital. http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/05/04/jahanbegloo-iran.htmlHuman Rights Watch
expressed concern over Jahanbegloo being detained without charges and called for his immediate release. http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/05/05/iran13312.htm http://hrw.org/persian/press/2006/iran050406pr.pdf
According to Canadian newspaper reports on May 6, Jahanbegloo's friends suspected that he was being tortured. Their fears increased in the wake of reports that Jahanbegloo had been examined twice at the medical clinic of Evin Prison, a detention facility for political prisoners. http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=47895263-87d6-49fc-a26e-82cf110e52a2&k=72702
An Iranian newspaper, Jomhuri Eslami, accused Jahanbegloo of links to the CIA and the Mossad
. "He is considered as one of the key elements in the American plan for the smooth toppling" of the Islamic regime", the newspaper stated, further charging that he was being paid by the United States to conduct "cultural activities against Iran."
On May 13, the Defenders of Human Rights Center
(DHRC), an Iranian human rights group headed by Iran's Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Shirin Ebadi
, voiced concern over the arrest and jailing of the prominent intellectual. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060514/wl_mideast_afp/iranjusticepoliticsdissident_060514094227 http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/5/03e1ee51-8cf3-4698-852f-b3d6ecb7fd59.html
On May 15, the Council of the European Union
, following a meeting in Brussels
, issued a press release expressing concerns about the detention of Jahanbegloo, including its underlying message that Iranians ought not to communicate or associate with Europeans:
On May 19, more than 400 prominent international figures, including Nobel laureates, scholars and human rights activists, in an open letter demanded Jahanbegloo's immediate release. Among the undersigned are Noam Chomsky
, J.M. Coetzee, Shirin Ebadi
, Umberto Eco
, Jürgen Habermas
, Timothy Garton Ash
, Leszek Kołakowski, Antonio Negri
, Richard Rorty
, Krzysztof Zanussi
, and Howard Zinn
. http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2006/05/060519_si-jahanbegloo-letter.shtml http://raminj.iranianstudies.ca/index.php/archives/33
On June 13, Reuters
reported from Tehran that Jahanbegloo was barred from seeing a lawyer during his interrogations. http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-06-13T091443Z_01_ARA331498_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-RIGHTS-IRAN-PHILOSOPHER-COL.XML
On July 10, the Council of the European Union issued another press release reiterating its concerns about the detention of Jahanbegloo:
On August 30, 2006, Jahanbegloo was released from prison after four months of confinement.
On June 29, 2009, commenting on post-election chaos, Iranian minister of intelligence said, "there is no practical possibility of a velvet revolution in Iran" though he accused United States and Britain of trying to orchestrate one. He disclosed that people such as Ramin Jahanbaglou and Haleh Esfandiari
had been arrested in connection with such foreign assisted plots to instigate the Iranian intelligentia but due to legal complications, no prosecution could take place.
in New Delhi
, India. In January, 2008 he returned to the University of Toronto as a professor of Political Science, Massey College Scholar-at-Risk, and Research Fellow at the Centre for Ethics at Trinity College
. In 2009, he wrote a book, Talking Architecture: Raj Rewal In Conversation With Ramin Jahanbegloo. The book was inaugurated on 19th December, 2009 in New Delhi, India.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian philosopher and academic who is currently based in Canada. He teaches at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
as a professor of political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
.
Biography
Jahanbegloo was born in Tehran, Iran. He has a doctorate in philosophyPhilosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
from Sorbonne University in Paris, France where he lived for twenty years. He was a post-doctorate fellow in Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He is married to Azin Moalej, the cousin of renowned Persian philosopher and scholar, Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Seyyed Hossein Nasr is an Iranian University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University, and a prominent Islamic philosopher...
.
Academic and intellectual career
Jahanbegloo's intellectual activity focuses on fostering constructive dialogue between divergent cultures. He has written numerous books and articles in PersianPersian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, English and French on the subject of Western philosophy
Western philosophy
Western philosophy is the philosophical thought and work of the Western or Occidental world, as distinct from Eastern or Oriental philosophies and the varieties of indigenous philosophies....
and modernity
Modernity
Modernity typically refers to a post-traditional, post-medieval historical period, one marked by the move from feudalism toward capitalism, industrialization, secularization, rationalization, the nation-state and its constituent institutions and forms of surveillance...
.
In 1997-2001, he was an adjunct professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
in Canada. During this period, he published his book for the first time in English, Conversations with Isaiah Berlin (which had previously been translated into French. The book records a series of interviews with the famous philosopher Isaiah Berlin
Isaiah Berlin
Sir Isaiah Berlin OM, FBA was a British social and political theorist, philosopher and historian of ideas of Russian-Jewish origin, regarded as one of the leading thinkers of the twentieth century and a dominant liberal scholar of his generation...
, which cover intellectual questions ranging from the moral philosophy of Tolstoy to the meaning of liberalism.
In 2001, he served at the National Endowment for Democracy
National Endowment for Democracy
The National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, is a U.S. non-profit organization that was founded in 1983 to promote US-friendly democracy by providing cash grants funded primarily through an annual allocation from the U.S. Congress...
as a fellow at the a federally funded program, known as the Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program
Upon returning to Tehran, he was appointed head of the Contemporary Philosophy Department of the Cultural Research Center. In his efforts to promote dialogue, he has interviewed scholars and intellectuals from all over the world, among them George Steiner
George Steiner
Francis George Steiner, FBA , is an influential European-born American literary critic, essayist, philosopher, novelist, translator, and educator. He has written extensively about the relationship between language, literature and society, and the impact of the Holocaust...
, Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
, Ashis Nandy
Ashis Nandy
Ashis Nandy is an Indian political psychologist, a social theorist, and a contemporary cultural and political critic. A trained sociologist and clinical psychologist, his body of work covers a variety of topics, including public conscience, mass violence, and dialogues of civilizations.He was...
and the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
. In recent years, he invited Richard Rorty
Richard Rorty
Richard McKay Rorty was an American philosopher. He had a long and diverse academic career, including positions as Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Princeton, Kenan Professor of Humanities at the University of Virginia, and Professor of Comparative Literature at Stanford University...
, Timothy Garton Ash
Timothy Garton Ash
Timothy Garton Ash is a British historian, author and commentator. He is currently serving as Professor of European Studies at Oxford University. Much of his work has been concerned with the late modern and contemporary history of Central and Eastern Europe...
, Antonio Negri
Antonio Negri
Antonio Negri is an Italian Marxist sociologist and political philosopher.Negri is best-known for his co-authorship of Empire, and secondarily for his work on Spinoza. Born in Padua, he became a political philosophy professor in his hometown university...
, and Michael Ignatieff
Michael Ignatieff
Michael Grant Ignatieff is a Canadian author, academic and former politician. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011...
and other Western intellectuals to Iran.
Political detention
In late April 2006, on his way to an international conference in BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Jahanbegloo was arrested by the Iranian authorities.
On May 3, Iran judiciary branch officials confirmed that he was arrested and sent to Evin Prison
Evin Prison
Evin House of Detention is a prison in Iran, located in Evin, northwestern Tehran. It is noted for its political prisoners' wing, where prisoners have been held both before and after the 1979 Iranian Revolution...
. According to some sources, he was accused of spying. http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8502130481 The following day, a friend told CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
News that Jahanbegloo had been moved to a hospital. http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/05/04/jahanbegloo-iran.htmlHuman Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
expressed concern over Jahanbegloo being detained without charges and called for his immediate release. http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/05/05/iran13312.htm http://hrw.org/persian/press/2006/iran050406pr.pdf
According to Canadian newspaper reports on May 6, Jahanbegloo's friends suspected that he was being tortured. Their fears increased in the wake of reports that Jahanbegloo had been examined twice at the medical clinic of Evin Prison, a detention facility for political prisoners. http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=47895263-87d6-49fc-a26e-82cf110e52a2&k=72702
An Iranian newspaper, Jomhuri Eslami, accused Jahanbegloo of links to the CIA and the Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
. "He is considered as one of the key elements in the American plan for the smooth toppling" of the Islamic regime", the newspaper stated, further charging that he was being paid by the United States to conduct "cultural activities against Iran."
On May 13, the Defenders of Human Rights Center
Defenders of Human Rights Center
The Defenders of Human Rights Center is Iran's leading human rights organization.-Organization:...
(DHRC), an Iranian human rights group headed by Iran's Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
laureate Shirin Ebadi
Shirin Ebadi
Shirin Ebadi is an Iranian lawyer, a former judge and human rights activist and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. On 10 October 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially women's,...
, voiced concern over the arrest and jailing of the prominent intellectual. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060514/wl_mideast_afp/iranjusticepoliticsdissident_060514094227 http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/5/03e1ee51-8cf3-4698-852f-b3d6ecb7fd59.html
On May 15, the Council of the European Union
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...
, following a meeting in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, issued a press release expressing concerns about the detention of Jahanbegloo, including its underlying message that Iranians ought not to communicate or associate with Europeans:
-
- "The Council is seriously concerned about the detention of the Iranian philosopher Dr. Ramin Jahanbegloo. The Council calls upon Iranian authorities not to penalize Iranian citizens for their contacts with Europeans, including embassies, universities and cultural institutes". http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2006/05/060516_he-nuc-eu.shtml http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/gena/89620.pdf http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/gena/89618.pdf
On May 19, more than 400 prominent international figures, including Nobel laureates, scholars and human rights activists, in an open letter demanded Jahanbegloo's immediate release. Among the undersigned are Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
, J.M. Coetzee, Shirin Ebadi
Shirin Ebadi
Shirin Ebadi is an Iranian lawyer, a former judge and human rights activist and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. On 10 October 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially women's,...
, Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
, Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas is a German sociologist and philosopher in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. He is perhaps best known for his theory on the concepts of 'communicative rationality' and the 'public sphere'...
, Timothy Garton Ash
Timothy Garton Ash
Timothy Garton Ash is a British historian, author and commentator. He is currently serving as Professor of European Studies at Oxford University. Much of his work has been concerned with the late modern and contemporary history of Central and Eastern Europe...
, Leszek Kołakowski, Antonio Negri
Antonio Negri
Antonio Negri is an Italian Marxist sociologist and political philosopher.Negri is best-known for his co-authorship of Empire, and secondarily for his work on Spinoza. Born in Padua, he became a political philosophy professor in his hometown university...
, Richard Rorty
Richard Rorty
Richard McKay Rorty was an American philosopher. He had a long and diverse academic career, including positions as Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Princeton, Kenan Professor of Humanities at the University of Virginia, and Professor of Comparative Literature at Stanford University...
, Krzysztof Zanussi
Krzysztof Zanussi
Krzysztof Zanussi, is a Polish producer and film director.He is a professor of European film at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland where he conducts a summer workshop...
, and Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn was an American historian, academic, author, playwright, and social activist. Before and during his tenure as a political science professor at Boston University from 1964-88 he wrote more than 20 books, which included his best-selling and influential A People's History of the United...
. http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2006/05/060519_si-jahanbegloo-letter.shtml http://raminj.iranianstudies.ca/index.php/archives/33
On June 13, Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
reported from Tehran that Jahanbegloo was barred from seeing a lawyer during his interrogations. http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-06-13T091443Z_01_ARA331498_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-RIGHTS-IRAN-PHILOSOPHER-COL.XML
On July 10, the Council of the European Union issued another press release reiterating its concerns about the detention of Jahanbegloo:
-
- "The EU is particularly alarmed about the continuing detention of the respected Iranian academic Dr. Ramin Jahanbegloo, who is well known for his commitment to philosophical and moral principles, non-violence and dialogue." http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/cfsp/90444.pdf http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/gena/90565.pdf
On August 30, 2006, Jahanbegloo was released from prison after four months of confinement.
On June 29, 2009, commenting on post-election chaos, Iranian minister of intelligence said, "there is no practical possibility of a velvet revolution in Iran" though he accused United States and Britain of trying to orchestrate one. He disclosed that people such as Ramin Jahanbaglou and Haleh Esfandiari
Haleh Esfandiari
Haleh Esfandiari is an Iranian American academic and the Director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. Her areas of expertise include Middle Eastern women's issues, contemporary Iranian intellectual currents and politics, and...
had been arrested in connection with such foreign assisted plots to instigate the Iranian intelligentia but due to legal complications, no prosecution could take place.
Career after imprisonment
In 2006 and 2007 he was Rajni Kothari Professor of Democracy at the Centre for the Study of Developing SocietiesCentre for the Study of Developing Societies
The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies is an Indian social sciences and humanities research institute. It was founded in 1963 by Rajni Kothari and is largely founded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research...
in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
, India. In January, 2008 he returned to the University of Toronto as a professor of Political Science, Massey College Scholar-at-Risk, and Research Fellow at the Centre for Ethics at Trinity College
University of Trinity College
The University of Trinity College, informally referred to as Trin, is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Trinity was intended by Strachan as a college of strong Anglican alignment, after the University of Toronto severed its ties with the Church of...
. In 2009, he wrote a book, Talking Architecture: Raj Rewal In Conversation With Ramin Jahanbegloo. The book was inaugurated on 19th December, 2009 in New Delhi, India.
Awards
In October 2009 Jahanbegloo became the winner of the Peace Prize from the United Nations Association in Spain for his extensive academic works in promoting dialogue between cultures and his advocacy for non-violence.Works
- Talking Architecture: Raj Rewal In Conversation With Ramin Jahanbegloo (2009)
- The Clash of Intolerances (2007)
- Talking India: Conversations with Ashis Nandy (2006)
- Iran: Between Tradition and Modernity (Global Encounters) (2004)
- Gandhi: Aux sources de la non-violence: Thoreau, Ruskin, Tolstoi (Le temps et les mots)
- Conversations with Isaiah Berlin (2000)
See also
- Iranian philosophyIranian philosophyIranian philosophy or Persian philosophy can be traced back as far as to Old Iranian philosophical traditions and thoughts which originated in ancient Indo-Iranian roots and were considerably influenced by Zarathustra's teachings...
- Intellectual Movements in IranIntellectual movements in IranIntellectual movements in Iran involve the Iranian experience of modernity and its associated art, science, literature, poetry, and political structures that have been changing since the 19th century.- History of Iranian modernity :...
- History of fundamentalist Islam in IranHistory of fundamentalist Islam in IranThe history of fundamentalist Islam in Iran covers the history of Islamic revivalism and the rise of political Islam in modern Iran. Today, there are basically three types of Islam in Iran: traditionalism, modernism, and a variety of forms of revivalism usually brought together as fundamentalism...
- Daryoush AshouriDaryoush AshouriDariush Ashoori is a prominent Iranian thinker, author, translator, researcher, and public intellectual. He lives in Paris, France.-Work:He studied at the Faculty of Law, Political Sciences and Economics of the University of Tehran, and has been visiting professor of Persian language and...
- Zahra KazemiZahra KazemiZahra "Ziba" Kazemi-Ahmadabadi was an Iranian-Canadian freelance photographer, residing in Montreal, Canada, who died in the custody of Iranian officials following her arrest....
- Haleh EsfandiariHaleh EsfandiariHaleh Esfandiari is an Iranian American academic and the Director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. Her areas of expertise include Middle Eastern women's issues, contemporary Iranian intellectual currents and politics, and...
- Isaiah BerlinIsaiah BerlinSir Isaiah Berlin OM, FBA was a British social and political theorist, philosopher and historian of ideas of Russian-Jewish origin, regarded as one of the leading thinkers of the twentieth century and a dominant liberal scholar of his generation...
- List of Iranian Intellectuals